Attorney pleads guilty to Medicare fraud conspiracy
Healthcare Auditing Weekly, March 13, 2007
South Florida attorney Benjamin Metsch pleaded guilty to charges that he defrauded Medicare between 2002 and 2004, LawFuel.com reports.
Metsch conspired with another individual, unnamed in the indictment, to facilitate the fraudulent sales of 67 durable medical equipment companies, according to the report.
According to the charges, the sales involved 'straw purchasers' who acted in the place of the true purchasers of the DME companies.This kind of convoluted transaction tends to impede Medicare investigators and prosecutors from quickly tracking down persons committing fraud.
In the plea agreement, Metsch agreed to pay $103,000 restitution to Medicare.
Metsch faces a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment, according to prosecutors. His sentencing is scheduled for May 18.
Read the entire LawFuel.com report here.
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